


downtown down time

by yellowjesy



Category: Alice Oseman, Heartstopper (Webcomic), Solitaire - Alice Oseman
Genre: M/M, also rip for sai and omar not having last names, i love my boys and i really did alice dirty with this but it's cute at the same time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-12 20:22:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16002608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellowjesy/pseuds/yellowjesy
Summary: nick and charlie are on a school field trip in ottawa with their rugby team and have a free day to explore!part of the osemanverse big bang! :)





	downtown down time

Charlie shivered. His thin jacket was useless against the strong winds and slowly falling snow. His hat has sloppily been placed on his head by Nick, but Charlie was glad he had it as it had picked up a fair amount of snow. The team’s first rugby game was tomorrow, and so they had an afternoon and evening to themselves in Ottawa.

 

The group was stood lazily outside the hotel, trying to get organized. Tao was trying to get the perfect Boomerang of the snow falling, Nick was phoning to make a dinner reservation, and Sai and Omar were inspecting the colourful Canadian money they had been given.

 

Charlie looked at his friends and grinned. He knew they had to make the most of this day as he could already hear Mrs. Singh’s voice yelling at him to give her two more laps. But now, right at that moment, the boys could relax and have fun.

 

The slap of their boots against the soggy sidewalks brought Charlie back. “We should probably start heading towards our first stop,” Nick suggested. Charlie nodded, and after a few moments of prodding and pushing, the boys began their journey.

 

Walking down the streets of downtown were full of gasps, pointing, and craned necks. The skyscrapers surrounding the four boys created a maze to the canal, making their walk full of twists and turns and running wildly across the streets as Nick realized the lights were about to change. Charlie had never been to the canal before and was a bit scared to be skating in an unknown location with a group of clumsy boys. Nick had assured him that everything would be fine, and if it really was that bad Charlie could just walk along in his boots. Sai suggested they buy a sled and pull Charlie around, but that was quickly shot down by Tao.

 

The five boys reached the canal, in awe at the number of people that were already skating. There were babies wrapped up in bundles of cloth, not old enough to walk; accompanied by older couples using walkers for support. The whole scene looked like a model village. Everyone’s head was adorned with hats, hands wrapped in mittens and feet shoved in boots.

 

After a debate over sizes and colours, the five boys had all their skates laced up and were ready. Charlie wished Tori and Michael were here to lend him some tips, as he wobbled to an upwards position. Nick grabbed Charlie’s shoulder and also stood up. The two boys looked at each other and burst into giggles as they realized just how much both of them were shaking. Every few seconds their legs would give in, and they would wobble to one side or another. Tao was arguing with Sai over if they should hold each other and stand up or stand up and then hold onto each other.

 

Charlie decided that grabbing onto Nick’s arm was the best way to move forward which worked for a few seconds until Nick realized he actually needed both of his arms to balance properly. The boys wobbled around for a few minutes until they gradually, maybe it was the cold or perhaps it was their determination, all got the hang of it.

 

And soon they were all going down the canal, hand in hand, not as quickly as Charlie had hoped, but at a moderate pace. The snow continued to fall, hugging the ice as the tourists made shapes on the frozen water. There were, of course, ruts and holes which Charlie was utterly terrified of skating into, but didn’t show it. Omar and Sai challenged each other to a race and Charlie, and Nick rolled their eyes at the fact they were even thinking about it. And as Charlie reluctantly let out an “On your marks, get set...go!” The boys took off quickly, only to land on the ice a few seconds later.

 

Finally, the group made their way to the poutine stand and collapsed on the wooden benches. Cheeks were red, hands were sweaty, and their stomachs were empty. After arguing for another twenty minutes over what to order, Nick wobbled over to the stand. Christian was amazed that they had to order, wait for your food, and then skate back, while on the ice the entire time.

 

“I bet a handful of fries that Nick won’t make it back to the bench without dropping something,” Sai said, taking off his hat. Charlie hadn’t realized how sweaty he had gotten. Who knew clenching every muscle in your body while trying to move your it quickly on a slippery surface would cause you to sweat. Tao shook Sai’s hand in agreement to the bet, and the two boys watched eagerly as Nick slowly made his way back to the table. To everyone’s surprise, Nick made it successfully back without falling, mittens full of hot food. Tao, with a smug look on his face, made a show of eating his winning handful of fries in front of Sai, taking extra long to dip them in ketchup and toss them into his mouth.

 

After they had eaten, Charlie wanted to leave. He was sticky with sweat and tired from skating, and now he was getting anxious about the rugby game tomorrow. Nick noticed right away, and as Omar, Tao, and Sai were cleaning up the mess, he turned towards Charlie.

 

“You alright?” Nick asked, putting his hand on Charlie’s shoulder. Charlie shrugged and rubbed his hands together, trying to heat them up. Putting your hands back in a pair of sweaty mittens wasn’t the ideal move at the moment. “I’m just really nervous about tomorrow,” Charlie finally said, looking up at Nick. “Sorry, that sounds so stupid, I know it’s just a game. But I’m not the best player, and I haven’t been doing well in the practices.”

 

Nick sighed and shook his head. Charlie was good, and he wasn’t the best, but it had improved loads. Even Mrs. Singh who had teased Charlie for weeks about being “the chosen one” had pulled Nick to the side and expressed her genuine fondness for him. Even she knew that Charlie had managed to learn how to play rugby in such a short amount of time.

 

“Hey, I know this is stressful, but it’s not about winning. We’re a team, and we’re going to stick together throughout this trip and all the games.” Nick explained, giving Charlie’s shoulder a squeeze. Charlie nodded and turned back to help pick up the final scraps as the five boys stumbled over to the trash can.

 

Half an hour later and they had successfully made it back to the skate shack without making complete fools of themselves. Tao had only let out one very loud scream, but that was all the embarrassment they endured. Now Nick and Omar were tackling Google Maps as they attempted to find the restaurant. Another twenty minutes later and the team found themselves in front of the dark awning, frowning at their reflections in the store window.

 

“Nick, I thought you talked to them? On the phone? Not even six hours ago?” Tao said, throwing him a glare.

 

“I did! But come to think of it I don’t even remember giving her the date of the reservation, and she did mention they close early now…” Nick trailed off looking sheepish. He ran his hand through his hair and let out a deep sigh. He looked at the boys expecting four sullen faces to be looking back at him, but instead, they sort of looked pleased.

 

“Nick, I’m going to be honest with you, I didn’t want to go to a fancy dinner. I would much rather grab a quick bite to eat and continue exploring the city.” Omar said laughing. Charlie and Sai nodded in agreement and Nick shook his head in disbelief.

 

“I was on hold with her for fifteen minutes! And you’re just telling me this now!” Nick cried, but he couldn’t contain his smile. His team never managed to disappoint.

 

The boys took off again, heading in a random direction chosen by Sai (“We’re in downtown Ottawa, there’s bound to be restaurants all around here”). They eventually reached the Parliament Hill, etched high in the sky, contrasting against the pink sunset. A combination of slush and snow made a path towards the Centennial Flame. Tao read the description, explaining that the flame had been lit in 1967 and it never stops burning. It was first lit as a celebration but now is more of a symbol to connect all the territories and provinces.

 

Nick turned to Charlie and gave him a nudge. “Bro, you know what?” He said in a lower voice.

 

“What, bro?” Charlie responded, trying to stifle his giggles.

 

“Bro, when this flame extinguishes, that’s when I’ll stop loving you.”

 

“Bro, the flame never extinguishes.”

 

“Bro, I know.” Nick laughed as Charlie rolled his eyes. And as Nick looked back into the fire, Charlie smiled to himself. _That’s when I’ll stop loving you._ Loving _you._ Charlie stared into the flame, letting his vision melt together as he heard Tao, Sai, Omar, and Nick laughing to the side.

 

All was good.

**Author's Note:**

> this is short and lowkey shitty but i love repping my city


End file.
